Small, simplistic program that does one thing and does
it well--if properly configured. From the website: "EpocSync allows
you to keep an EPOC computer synchronised with another machine via infrared,
or with the EPOC Emulator, or with a remote FTP server."

Highlights

Transfer of files between the two machines is acceptably
fast and for the most part error free

Lowlights

A slightly confusing interface; everything is not straightforward
and apparent to a novice user; ability to delete a profile and then start
from scratch is not present; some of the choices for the preferences seem
to overlap

Takes approximately 94 KB of disk space
and approximately 375 KB of system memory when running

Price

Free

Installation
Installation was, as always, straightforward and flawless. Copy the Zip file
to the Psion, unzip it, and run the .sis
file. Before unzipping the file I had to copy the file over to my other Psion,
a trusty Series 5, so that I could use the combination of my Revo and Series
5 for the review. Of course you can use either the Mac or the PC, with the appropriate
software, to install the unzipped .sis
file for you, right from your desktop. An icon appears in the Extras
bar--just click on it and away you go.

Running the program
Getting the program to run was not hard. Understanding all of the preferences
and getting them right was hard.

Main screen

First time I tried to use it, it timed out and then caused a soft restart.
This only happened once.

I think where I went wrong was not having the two machines on a level surface
and properly lined up. In about two minutes it transferred approximately 840
KB once I got them lined up correctly.

The first thing the program does is walk you through a couple of steps to find
out if this is going to be your primary computer or your secondary computer.
Then it asks you to select some files and or folders to be synchronized. You
then pick some folders or files, manually or with the help of the Add
common button.

Then you are asked to name this profile. At this point you have a few Preferences
to choose from: Connection
method, Synchronize
folders within folders, and Archive
overwritten files. The next step allows you to make choices about
the general running of the program.

My Preference choices included setting the File
transfer message frequency to every 10 KB, and to Archive
on both machines, as well as Overwrite
earlier version and Always
close the file. Another good preference is the one that you choose
if you want the program to confirm which profile you wish to use before proceeding.
I personally dislike it when the computer goes right ahead and does something--I
would rather confirm the action that is about to take place. So this is a good
preference to have available.

It is not readily obvious how to delete a profile so that you can make a new
one and start over. You have to delete the EpocSync.ini
file from your EpocSync
folder inside the System/Apps
folder and then restart the program and go through the setup again. This could
be better and different than it is.

Files and folders chosen
for "HOME" profile

I use the Revo as my main unit so I was going from it to the Series 5. My
first attempt was to sync my Documents
folder and all that is inside of it. It has a number of folders and
some system files for some of the programs that you and/or the Psion has installed
and run.

This gave me a multiple number of copies in the folder that I had assigned
to receive the sync and it also created copies in the Archive
folders on both machines. In addition, copies of some of the files that were
in the Documents
folder on the Revo were copied again and given a 01
at the end of the name, giving me two copies of some files on the Revo in the
Documents
folder.

I also lost one of my main Phone
data files while trying this little experiment. No idea how or where it went,
but thank God for backups--especially when trying something new. Maybe I had
too many mixed folders and files that would not necessarily be updated and thus
would never need to be synced in the folder. I am not sure.

My next attempt at another profile was to pick Agenda,
Data,
and Sheet
files that I use regularly. I copied them into a folder and then selected that
folder from within the EpocSync program to sync to my Series 5. It worked very
well this time. Just be careful that you do not overwrite an older file or folder
with a newer one that lacks some of the data that may be on the older one ...
another good reason to employ the archive features.

File transfer in action

I have a Mac clone as my main computer and on it I have Virtual PC version
3.03. I tried to connect and sync with the EPOC emulator that I have running
on it, but to no avail. It would not connect no matter what I did. Changing
ports and settings on all of the hardware and software made no difference--it
would not connect. So I do not know how this works with the EPOC emulator nor
how it works with FTP sites. But I am sure that if you keep it simple and play
with the Preferences a little the program will work just fine.

Rating Defense
For Quality I give EpocSync 3.5 Geekheads. In spite of what a great concept
this software is, my rating is based on my experience of finding the interface
a little confusing and not as linear in its layout and thinking as I would like.
Many novice users may find things to be a little confusing. Psion software is
usually simplistic in the extreme and thus easy to understand and use. In my
humble opinion, the program needs the interface and the object of the program
to be simplified a little.

I could not get the program to close from the Open
files/programs window. You also have to change the type of connection
used from the Name profiles
menu, not from the Preferences
windows. So there are (for me, at least) still a few rough edges.

Having said that, I would like to say that I think EpocSync is a fine program
that provides a wonderful feature for multiple Psion owners to keep their machines
synchronized.

As for Geekness, EpocSync gets a solid 4 Geekheads. What the program does is
very slick, once set up correctly. The fact that it talks to the other machine,
arranges everything, checks the files and folders, makes sure that the time
stamp is correct, and then makes the transfer is a small marvel. The speed of
the transfer is very good and the time needed to archive files and folders is
minimal. Once it gets going and syncing with the other machine it does a lot
of technical things in a very short period of time. I was suitably amazed by
this.

EpocSync is a good--for some people necessary--piece of software that does
one thing and one thing only but does it well and error free (once set up properly).
Just be careful about how you use it. It does not know if you have entered any
new data in an older file and so it could overwrite some critical information
you might need. So keep track of what you have done and on which machine before
doing a sync. And use the archive feature--it may save you some grief some day.